Princess Marie of Denmark has revealed that she and her family will be moving back to their home country next year, after three years abroad in the USA.
The European princess and her husband, Prince Joachim, King Frederik’s brother, are currently living in Washington DC for the prince’s job as a defence industry attaché at the Danish embassy, but expect to return to their homeland from August 2027.
Speaking from Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Marie, who celebrates her 50th birthday this week, told Danish paper BILLED-BLADET: “I’m looking forward to getting back to my work and my patronages. And getting back to Denmark. And what happens after that, time will tell. We are really looking forward to it. It has been really exciting to be out of the country and be able to support Denmark abroad.”
She explained that she wants her son, Count Henrik, to finish high school first, but hopes Countess Athena will complete her own schooling back in Denmark. The family previously lived in Paris for three years, and moved to the US in the autumn of 2023.
Tension over titles
In September 2022, the then-Queen Margrethe announced she would be stripping her youngest son Prince Joachim’s children of their royal titles. This meant that Nikolai, 26, Felix, 22, Henrik, 16, and Athena, 14, would no longer be known as “princes” and “princesses”. As of 1 January, 2023, the children are all styled as Count/Countess of Monpezat, and are not expected to carry out royal duties in the future.
“My whole family and I are, of course, very sad,” Nikolai, 24, told the Danish publication, Ekstrabladet, shortly after. “We are, as my parents have also stated, in shock at this decision and at how quickly it has actually gone. I don’t understand why it had to happen this way.” Joachim previously revealed that the decision meant his relationship with his mother was “complicated”.
According to Queen Margrethe, the decision to strip her grandchildren of their royal titles, and slim down the monarchy, was made so they could “shape their own lives” without being “limited” by their titles. The family have since focused on their lives in the US, with Prince Joachim previously referring to it as the “land of opportunity”. Nikolai, for example, has focused on his career as a model and has been travelling.
© Getty ImagesIn an interview with DK, Joachim said: “The fact that they are here gives me the peace and ballast to be able to give 110 per cent to the effort here.” He mused on the new opportunities presented to them, adding: “They are really challenged in a great way, and it’s something they enjoy. I think that if I look at the very long term, four years in Paris [and then] over here, I think that will be well spent, and I also think that they will thank me for that – one day.”
Queen Margrethe abdicated in January 2024 in favour of her eldest son, King Frederik, and his wife, Queen Mary. Her younger son, Joachim, shares Count Henrik and Countess Athena with Marie, who is his second wife. He also has two children, Count Nikolai and Count Felix, with his first wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg. The couple divorced in 2005.
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